Reviewing a children's book from 2018 every day

Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard

Summary: From the time he was born, Johann Sebastian Bach was surrounded by music (and also, apparently, by people named Johann). His whole family–many of whom, incidentally, were named Johann–made music, so much so that in his part of Germany, musicians were called bachs. His parents died when he was young, and he went to live with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph (traveling with another brother, Johann Jacob). There, he learned by copying music and playing a great variety of instruments, until he was able to express his many deep emotions through his own compositions. The final two pages of the book show the music coming from his organ as beautifully colored floating designs, traveling through time to contemporary listeners. An author’s note gives additional biographical information. 40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros: Spare text, told in Bach’s voice, is gorgeously accompanied by illustrations which also convey information about his life.